The Bobcats didn’t head out to Johnston Stadium for a game, though. Instead, they went to nearby Bluffton Elementary and greeted students as they hopped off buses or were dropped off by their parents.

The team participated in Read Across America to begin the school day, reading to and visiting with students in their classrooms.

“I thought it would be really fun, because I know when I was in elementary school I looked up to all the baseball players,” Bluffton senior and team captain John Trerotola said.

Bluffton baseball coach Bryant Kitty said Friday was the start of an annual community service initiative in which his players will visit a different local elementary school to read to students.

Kitty said the idea came to him when he started thinking of ways to remember Khalil Singleton, an 8-year-old Hilton Head Island student who was killed by a stray bullet while he was playing outside in September.

Singleton’s father, Kareem, will be the team’s guest and throw out the first pitch before Bluffton’s season opener at 6 p.m. Monday against Battery Creek. All elementary students will receive free admission.

Kitty said he and Kareem Singleton are members of the same Shriners organization in Savannah.

“It gives us an opportunity to come out and show respect to his family, but also to let the little ones know that we’re just across the field. We’re here. We want to act as a big brother,” Kitty said.

“His father said two things (Khalil) loved doing were reading and baseball, so we tied the two of them together in his memory.”

Nine Bluffton baseball players and four cheerleaders split up and read a selection of Dr. Seuss books to the elementary students in their homerooms. They were joined by basketball player Harlan Kendrick, who dressed up as the school’s Bobcat mascot to interact with students.

“The student section at basketball games had a majority of our baseball players, so he’s just trying to return the favor,” Kitty said.

Trerotola and classmate Michelle Ciavolino sat down in front of Iris Tennison’s second-grade class and read “The Cat in the Hat.”

Read Across America Day was started by the National Educational Association in 1998 to promote reading. It coincides with Dr. Seuss’ March 2 birthday.

After Ciavolino finished the book, she and Trerotola spent a few minutes discussing it with the class. Trerotola invited all of them to visit Johnston Stadium for Monday’s game.

“Every time we walk by, they want to high-five and hang out,” he said of the elementary students. “I’m glad that we got to do this.”

BLUFFTON BASEBALL OPENER

When: 6 p.m. Monday

Where: Johnston Stadium

Details: Elementary students get in free

ON THE WEB

To see a Spotted gallery from USCB’s Friday Read Across America event, go to blufftontoday.com